The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) authority of heads of state and government has asked its commission to urgently provide $2,850,000 to each of five member states as part of the bloc’s counterterrorism efforts.
Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo are the recipient nations; they are all dealing with different security issues.
The authority directed that the donations come from the regional security fund in a statement released during the 68th ordinary session of the ECOWAS heads of state and government, which took place in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on Sunday.
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In compliance with the funding arrangements suggested by the ECOWAS ministries of finance and defence, the authority also mandated immediate steps to operationalise the regional counterterrorism brigade.
Authority further asked the commission to urgently convene meetings of the committee of chiefs of intelligence service and the committee of chiefs of defence staff to advance the activation of the brigade.
The bloc expressed worry over the worsening security conditions throughout the area, especially in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, which are marked by ongoing attacks, kidnappings, and sabotage activities by terrorist armed groups, rebels, and bandits.
The ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government claims that severe humanitarian crises and mass displacements have impacted six million people in the area.
Additionally, the regional alliance praised President Bola Tinubu for ensuring the return of kids who had been abducted in northern Nigeria.
ECOWAS called on the international community, including the UN Security Council and the African Union (AU), to swiftly and coherently address the needs of the region’s terrorist-affected nations.
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In order to address the worsening security situation in the region, the authority instructed the ECOWAS commission and member states to continue their interactions with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
President Bola Tinubu urged regional leaders to band together to combat terrorism and military takeovers during the summit on Sunday in Abuja.
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